Justice on the Art of Writing ‘Simple But Not Too Stupid’ Lyrics

French duo break down tales behind 'Horsepower' and 'Civilization'

Listening to “Horsepower,” the opening volley on Justice’s latest disc Audio Video Disco, is like seeing an old friend with a new haircut. Or so says Gaspard Augé in a new series of web videos exploring the album’s creation. “You have the feeling of deja vu, but with newer elements,” he says. As SPIN reported last week, Augé and Xavier de Rosnay puffed cigarettes and chatted about their latest disc, and we’ve got their revelations about “Horsepower” and “Civilization” right here.

You may notice the first two tracks follow each other quite well. That’s because “Civilization” is “in the same key as the first track,” de Rosnay says. “Writing it was easy but putting it together was really hard. I think the lyrics of the chorus is our favorite line of the album. We were really proud of it when we wrote it… really simple, but not too stupid at the same time.”

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